Under Mikel Arteta Arsenal uses a variety of formations and players, however, there are several things Tottenham can anticipate with the Gunners ahead of Sunday’s North London Derby. Here are five things Spurs can expect when they travel to the Emirates.
Point 1: Arsenal is going to look to get on top early
Much like Tottenham Hotspur tries to jump out of the box and start games strong, so too does Arsenal. As the home team with a likely hyped-up derby crowd, Tottenham should fully anticipate a huge push from Arsenal early.
After a shaky start to their season, Arsenal has seemingly righted their ship with three straight wins in all competitions and three successive clean sheets. The fans at the Emirates are wanting to believe in their team, thus an early lead could really help put the Gunners over the top.
Alternatively, if Tottenham can leverage that aggressiveness and hit Arsenal with a quick counter or two, we have seen the Gunners defence is quite susceptible. Even if Spurs cannot find a counter and an early goal against the anticipated pressure from Arsenal, simply getting through those opening 10-15 minutes level will be very important.
Point 2: Spurs center-backs are going to be busy
Arsenal is not a team that plays a lot of long balls but they do like to move the ball up the pitch quickly and attempt a lot of through balls to Pierre -Emerick Aubameyang. Aubameyang is your classic number nine who likes to hang on the shoulder of the last defender and use his speed and quickness to beat the defender to the ball and get in on goal.
Although his only goal this season – and the Gunners only from open play in the league – was a tap-in from a scrum against Norwich, Aubameyang is still getting his shots and chances.
If the pairing for Tottenham is Cristian Romero and Eric Dier, as it was against Chelsea, it could leave Dier exposed if he is one-on-one with Aubameyang. We know Romero likes to Rome and jump the ball, trusting in his ability to recover, it should be an interesting game of cat and mouse and Auba looks for space between the backs.
Point 3: Tottenham can expect a lot of service from Arsenal
One thing that is very obvious under Arteta is that the Gunners like to get the ball wide and then get it crossed into the box. Kieran Tierney alone has 24 crosses in five Premier League matches. Now that Arsenal has more balance on the right with Takehio Tomiyasu Spurs should expect even more service.
It is not just the fullbacks providing width and services for Arsenal either as it is a major aspect of their game. By pushing players like Nicolas Pepe and Bukayo Saka wide they increase the overall service for the forwards and so open space in the middle of the pitch. That space in the middle of the pitch is for Emile Smith-Rowe and Martin Odegaard to fill in behind the striker.
Knowing the plan is to provide a lot of service Arsenal is one of the better teams in the league at framing the back post. Whether it is attempted volleys and shots at the back post or headers and one-touch passes back into the box, Arsenal does not let a lot of crosses go out the other side.
Tottenham needs to be ready for the ball to go wide and then come right back in. Given Spurs struggles marking in the box, being prepared for a lot of crosses as runners come charging is going to be vital to success for Spurs.
Point 4: Expect Arsenal to shoot on sight
Arsenal averages five more shots per match than does Tottenham. There are a couple of reasons for this, despite the Gunners only having 1 shot against Manchester City.
Arsenal took 30 shots against Norwich in their 1-0 victory and had 22 shots against Brentford in their opening weekend defeat. Those two games kind of skew the average but if you watch Arsenal at all, you know they have a lot of players that are going to shoot on sight.
Whether is Aubameyang, Smith-Rowe, Pepe, or Granit Xhaka, we can expect any Gunner with a clear sight of the goal to pull the trigger. Some of these shots are wishful and some are wasteful but if there is a rebound and it leads to a goal or a super strike and a worldie is scored, it was worth taking crack. Expect Arsenal to shoot early and often on Sunday.
Point 5: There is likely to be some controversy or a defensive error
This last point probably applies equally to both teams but the reality is there is rarely an Arsenal game, especially against Tottenham without a moment of controversy. Burnley had what looked like a clear penalty called off by VAR last week preserving the Gunner win.
Likewise, the Aubameyang goal against Norwich looked like the forward was offside but no lines were ever shown on the screen and the goal stood, despite vehement protests from Tim Krul. Even the red card that Xhaka received was a bit controversial as he was a violent challenge with little actual contact.
Given it is the North London Derby and the need both teams have to win this match, we should definitely expect a moment or two that is either a complete defensive blunder or complete madness. The line between a wonderful play and a massive mistake is very fine at this level and expect to see the tight rope walked with the question being on which side of the line the ball falls.
Arsenal is seemingly hitting their stride, it is going to be up to Tottenham to take the game to them and leverage Arsenal’s patterns for success behind the backline and a big road win.